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‘Chakka jam’ leaves many stranded

The scene on Vikas Marg in East Delhi caused by VHP-BJP road blockade on Wednesday.

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: A nationwide “chakka jam” by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Amarnath land issue coupled with spells of heavy rain resulted in massive traffic jams across the Capital on Wednesday.

Office-goers were stranded on roads for hours as the VHP activists took to the streets blocking traffic at major roads and intersections from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Owing to the protests, traffic flow was severely hit on stretches linking Delhi to Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurgaon and Jaipur. Rail service was also disrupted.

“I remained stuck on Narwana Road near the Mother Dairy plant for over an hour as traffic was completely chock-a-block. I eventually had to take the Nizamuddin bridge to go towards Jangpura Extension for a meeting, but the appointment had to be rescheduled,” said Gaurav Sharma, a resident of Indraprastha Extension.

Anil Kumar, a consultant with a private firm, was stranded near ITO while on his way to office at Connaught Place. “The jam seemed never ending. I had started from home around 9-15 a.m. and it took me about one and a half hours to reach office,” he said.

Demanding re-allotment of land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, the activists held blockades at 20 major spots in the National Capital Region. VHP general secretary Praveen Togadia and Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan led the demonstration at the ITO chungi.

Dr. Vardhan said the blockade had been organised to draw the attention of the Centre towards the demands of the people of Jammu, who were agitating for the past over 50 days seeking an early resolution of the issue. He said people going to hospital or airport were given way.